The HP Envy x2 Features the Snapdragon 835, 20 Hour Battery Life

Qualcomm’s annual Tech Summit event was held this past December, and this year the company showed off its next-gen Snapdragon Mobile Platform, as well as the best of current tech innovations, AI, and the “Always Connected PC” we’ve been hearing about. One of the first few laptops unveiled included new Snapdragon internals, particularly the 835 chip, which will fit nicely into the HP Envy x2 (2017) hybrid laptop. This new Envy model is raging across the tech media, as it not only sports an incredible, record-breaking battery life of 20 hours, but Qualcomm met up with Microsoft to now allow Windows 10 compatibility in its laptops.

This is one of the first laptops not powered by ARM chips, but Qualcomm. Not only that, but it also functions as the highly acclaimed, “Always Connected” PC, Microsoft discussed earlier last year at Computex. From a distance and up close, so far the Envy x2 appears much like a Microsoft Surface clone- as, in itself is just a tablet, but has a keyboard with an built-in kickstand for added portability.

The rather large (for this laptop category)12.3-inch display features a WUXGA 1920 x 1280 resolution. At just 6.9mm thick, and weighing just 1.54 pounds, do not fear that it is too delicate or brittle. Lighter than the iPad Pro (1.57 pounds), and over a pound lighter than the Dell XPS 13 9360 (2.7 pounds), it has a completely metal casing, and an anodized finish to feel rugged, while at the same time appearing premium. The case magnetizes to the back and the bottom of the tablet while folding it into a kickstand- which, rather than being built in to the actual tablet, the kickstand is built into the keyboard itself. The keyboard is backlit, comfortable, and sturdy enough to handle even heavy typers. As far as sitting in laptop-mode, there is 110 degrees to 150 degrees of freedom for getting comfy.

Inside are all the exciting parts. Headlining the hardware is of course the Snapdragon 835 CPU processor, at 1.9GHz, up to 2.45GHz turbo, which I didn’t realize this was the same chip currently powering some of the most popular smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 (so how it can handle desktop-level multitasking is beyond me). With enough power to operate Windows 10 S, which comes out-of-the-box, there is also 8GB of LPDDR4X of memory, and a 256GB SSD. There is also 4G LTE connectivity, and mixed with that 20 hours of battery life you’ll keep hearing about, only means reliable connectivity wherever you go; and if you want to stay there all day, go ahead (that’s what “Always Connected” is all about).

So, is this the notebook of the year, even if the year has just begun? It’s sure a good kickoff, especially having the capability of being online, all the time, and that crazy, nearly all-day battery life. This is the type of processor we’re talking about here. Qualcomm has been hinting, and then advertising its Snapdragon 835 chip for PCs and laptops for a long time now, and seeing it in a truly remarkable machine (so far, so good), leaves little compromise. Perhaps, price could be a downfall? The HP Envy x2 could represent the future of laptops and 2-in-1 devices leaving behind traditional PC internals, and swapping them for Snapdragon 835s. Could that be true, or could it just be a simple glimpse? The way the HP Envy x2 seems to allow for added functionality and power, it would surely be tempting for companies to follow suit. Additionally, when stacked up against that Surface hybrid, this is a pretty good value for something that has comparable specs to the most powerful Intel-powered Windows devices today. As far as comparable pricing, that important detail hasn’t been revealed from HP quite yet.